4-H in the 21st Century

4-H has come a long way from its farm origins in
the early 1900's when the focus was on agriculture
for students. Nationally, 4-H is moving into the
twenty-first century full of great opportunities for
youth to shine in leadership, showmanship, public
speaking, community service…and animal projects, of course!
Many community clubs are still in rural areas and many others
are distinctly urban with youth projects of web design and
programming, electronics, renaissance history, space science,
crafts, clothing design/sewing, collecting/hobbies, golf,
Photoshop and bowling to name a few.

Most of our leaders are parents who provide amazing extra-curricular
activities and spend hours volunteering at project meetings, county
fairs and transportation. 4-H offers our diverse youth of today many
aspects of interacting with professionals in our community to learn
public speaking, investment, and leadership. We have partnered with
NASA, Rotary, Toastmasters, and local politicians who are thrilled to
share their passion with the youth.

Teens in every county are involved in leadership and attend
regional and state retreats to learn skills that will take
them into the workplace in the future. These kids direct
summer camps and workshops, hold positions of council
leadership and work on the computer corps.

Youth from five years to nineteen years of age participate in a
variety of projects. A project is any instruction of eight hours or
more and within each project three things can happen: the fun
of learning, community service and competition. The kids utilize
what they have learned to serve their communities and competition
is in many venues: state and county fairs, regional field days,
animal shows and local smaller events.

The 4-H Clover logo is protected under 18 U.S.C. 707